Lots of cultures have had the 1 man >=1 woman tradition, in part to make sure that every woman had a 'protector and provider' as much as for the sex. (Greece, Persia, Middle East, and probably others that I'm not thinking of. Not the Roman Republic though, as far as I know)

What are the arguments against gay marriage? So far I've heard: It's sinful, I don't want to explain it to my kids, and two heterosexuals can get married for the benefits without having sex. These all seem like paper-thin arguments to me and I was wondering if anyone knew of anything else.

Edit: That and it will allow gays to feel more accepted and be openly gay in public and less cautious when hitting on people.

I study history and fail to remember such many different ways. Care to ellaborate?

One man multiple women model (very common throughout history), the "it takes a village" model (still prevalent in a lot of tribal cultures), the one-parent model (seen frequently in the US), and the one woman multiple men model (less frequent, but still present in a few cultures).

Polygamy is still an accepted part of the Middle Eastern culture, mistresses were a common and accepted part of the European social scene in the Age of Colonialism, and mormonism sprung up out of Upstate NY in the 1820's.

Edit: I'm sure there are many, many more, but that's just what sprung to my head right off the bat.

Lots of cultures have had the 1 man >=1 woman tradition, in part to make sure that every woman had a 'protector and provider' as much as for the sex. (Greece, Persia, Middle East, and probably others that I'm not thinking of. Not the Roman Republic though, as far as I know)

What are the arguments against gay marriage? So far I've heard: It's sinful, I don't want to explain it to my kids, and two heterosexuals can get married for the benefits without having sex. These all seem like paper-thin arguments to me and I was wondering if anyone knew of anything else.

Edit: That and it will allow gays to feel more accepted and be openly gay in public and less cautious when hitting on people.

Hard for many of us to believe, but as little as a few decades ago homosexuality was considered a mental disorder like schizophrenia. Homosexuals would suffer anything from hormone treatments, shock therapy or castration in order to 'treat' what was wrong with them.

Just as the war on drugs in many ways is a reaction to the failure of the Prohibition era, the backlash against homosexuals today is in many ways a reaction to the failure to "find a cure" for homosexuality a few decades ago.

I'm not saying I agree with those positions (I don't), I'm simply explaining that the people opposing gay marriage may believe it to be an unnatural disease defiling the sanctity of their god-blessed marriage. And many of the loudest voices crying in protest are likely to be repressed or secret homosexuals themselves. Psychology is weird.

Well I for once oppose gay adoption, and not on any religious basis (I've opposed it since way before becoming religious), or any medicinal interpretations of "diseases". But I don't believe this thread is meant for pro and anti gay positions.

Well I for once oppose gay adoption, and not on any religious basis (I've opposed it since way before becoming religious), or any medicinal interpretations of "diseases". But I don't believe this thread is meant for pro and anti gay positions.

Idle curiosity, why do you oppose families with homosexual parents, given several (might I say numerous?) recent studies showing that homosexual parents do equally as good a job raising children as heterosexual children.

Well I for once oppose gay adoption, and not on any religious basis (I've opposed it since way before becoming religious), or any medicinal interpretations of "diseases". But I don't believe this thread is meant for pro and anti gay positions.

Can I ask why that might be? I have no intentions of marrying a man, but I'm a nurturer by nature, I'm the top of my class in medical school, and I have strong moral values. I've never experimented with recreational drugs, I don't smoke, and I very rarely drink. I'm not saying it's in my immediate future, but yes, I'd like to have children, and after they're grown, I'd like to be a foster parent. It's not like there's a shortage of children in the system.

If you wanted to say that I shouldn't adopt because I'm handicapped (I'm mute.), I feel like that would hold a little more water.